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IN SEARCH OF THE GREAT WALL OF PERU Donald A. Proulx Professor of Anthropology, Emeritus University of Massachusetts Introduction and Summary of the Expedition In 1934, while undergraduate students at Yale and Harvard Universities respectively, Richard James Cross (1915-2003) and his friend Cornelius Van Schaak Roosevelt, (1915-1991) made a trip together to Peru. Their junket seems to have been motivated by Roosevelt’s reading an article about the Shippee-Johnson Peruvian Expedition of 1931 during which an ancient stone wall was discovered in the Santa Valley while taking aerial photographs of the Peruvian coast (Shippee 1932). Once in Peru Roosevelt and Cross contacted the eminent Peruvian archaeologist Julio C. Tello, who was planning a trip to the north coast and the Callejon de Huaylas in the mountains (Fig. 1). He generously invited the two young men to accompany him as his photographers. The team traveled from Lima up the coast stopping first at Huacho [in the Huaura Valley] and on to Paramonga, Fortaleza, and then Huarmay where they photographed a newly excavated ancient drum. Stopping in the Casma valley, they visited the ruins of Chanquillo (which Tello had visited but not photographed) and the adjacent 13 structures. It appears that they may also have photographed the Chimú administrative center of Manchan (see Roosevelt 1935: Fig. 6). They continued on to the Santa Valley where they investigated the “great wall” and traced its beginnings near to the coast. In Santa they also investigated several cemeteries, an ancient irrigation system and various ruins including a “fortress.” After spending several days in the Santa Valley, they took the train from Chimbote up the Santa Valley to its terminus at Huallanca and then by truck to Caraz where they photographed some monoliths in 1 private collections. After arriving in Huaraz the team spent several days photographing Recuay stone sculptures on the hospital grounds and some incorporated into an old building called the Pantheon Vieja. At the site of Keka Marca outside Huaraz, they discovered a large granite slab. They hired a crew to turn the stone over and found that the underside was carved in the form of a life-sized figure of a “god.” The group had wanted to visit the site of Chavín de Huantar, but Cross was feeling sick and was not able to take part in this excursion. Roosevelt, Tello, Agusto Soriano and Pedro Vega made the trip to Chavín on August 4th. Roosevelt photographed the temple, the Lanzon idol and the interior galleries, describing his adventure in an article published in the Geographical Review (Roosevelt 1935). Recovering from his illness in Huaraz, Cross visited the site of Anta Jerca and photographed some monoliths there. He revisited Keka Marca and spent time with a local missionary until Roosevelt returned. Tello stayed behind at Chavín to continue his researches in the highlands. The young men made their way back through Caraz, to Huallanca where they took the train back down to Chimbote. From Chimbote they flew back to Lima on a Fawcett plane, taking pictures out the window on their way back. Having a few days to spare before their ship left Peru, they took the Central Railroad up the Rimac Valley to Oroyo, visiting the smelter and mines at Morococha. On August 18, 1934 they sailed from Lima, stopping at Huacho, Guayaquil, Manta, Bahia, Esmeralda, Buenaventura, finally arriving at Balboa (Panama) on August 26th. Two days later they boarded the MS Potter and arrived in New York City on September 4, 1934. In 2004 Proulx was contacted by Jane Cross, a pediatrician living in Northampton, Massachusett, and the daughter of Richard Cross. She had learned of Proulx’s specialization in Peruvian archaeology at the nearby University of Massachusetts and called him to offer some of her father’s effects following his death in 2003. She gave Proulx Richard Cross’ original diary of the 1934 trip along with sixty- nine 5”by 7” and one hundred ninety-two 3”by 4.5” black and white photographs that the duo had taken during their trip. Also included in the materials were several letters written by Cross to his parents in New Jersey and a letter written to Cross by Tello in 1935. While conducting preliminary research on these materials, Proulx learned that In 1984 Cornelius Van S. Roosevelt and Richard Cross donated the photographs and records of their 1934 Peru trip to the Dumbarton Oaks Research Library and Museum in Washington, D.C., at the urging of Steven Wegner who held a junior fellowship there to study Recuay sculpture. According to an announcement released by the Hudson Museum, University of Maine (where an exhibit of these photographs was held in 2002), the gift consisted of 356 prints, the original negatives, and “written documentation.” It appears that Roosevelt donated his original diary, whereas Cross made a copy of portions of his diary (the original of which is now in possession of Proulx). Roosevelt published an article in 1935 in the Geographical Review (Vol. 25, No. 1) entitled “Ancient Civilizations of the Santa Valley and Chavín.” It included many of the photographs taken by Roosevelt and Cross along with maps and descriptions of the sites and artifacts. This 2 was the only report ever published by either of the two American students. Tello, who took the young men on his journey as photographers, did use ten of Roosevelt’s photos in his book Chavín: Cultura Matriz de la Civilizacion Andina (1961). We are unaware of any other publications containing the photographs taken on the 1934 trip. Wegner made a typewritten transcription of Roosevelt’s diary and gave a copy to Richard Daggett in 1994. In 2004, Daggett made a copy for Proulx. It is interesting to compare the two diaries of Roosevelt and Cross. Roosevelt’s contained much more detail, especially of archaeological materials. Biographical Background on Cross and Roosevelt Richard James Cross was born in 1915, the son of William Redmond Cross and Julia Newbold (Fig. 2).1 His father was a successful banker in New York City. Along with his two brothers and two sisters [Tom, Bill, Emily and Mary] he was raised by his affluent family in their home at 12 East 80th St. (Iozzia 1998: Endpage). The family also had a “country home” in Morristown, New Jersey to which they retreated every weekend until it was destroyed by fire in 1928 (Iozzia 1998: Endpage). The family then purchased a 250-acre estate in Bernardsville, New Jersey where his parents lived through their final years. An Episcopalian, he attended St. Bernard’s grade school, and, for his high school education, enrolled in Groton, an elite boarding school located in Massachusetts. Groton is a private Episcopalian prep school with many famous alumni including several from the Roosevelt family (Theodore Roosevelt Jr., Quentin Roosevelt, Franklin Delano Roosevelt, and Cornelius Van Schaak Roosevelt). Richard Cross and Cornelius Roosevelt were classmates at Groton and maintained their friendship even after they chose to attend different colleges. During the summer of 1934, the two friends made their trip to Peru, which will be described in detail below. Richard was accepted into the class of 1933 at Yale College majoring in English. Deciding to pursue a medical career, Cross applied to Columbia University’s College of Physicians Fig. 2 and Surgeons and was accepted into the class of 1941 (Iozzia 1998: Endpage). In 1939 Dick married Peggy Lee and the first of their five children was born in 1940. He served as a battalion surgeon during World War II in the Pacific theater. Following the war he completed his residency in internal medicine at Columbia, living with his family on East 96th St. in New York City. His long academic career began with his appointment to an assistant professorship at Columbia University and then as assistant dean. The family moved to Fair Lawn, New Jersey, but soon Dr. Cross’ career took another turn when he accepted a position as dean of admissions of the medical school at the University of Pittsburgh. In 1965 he took a position at Rutgers Medical School, and the family moved to Princeton. 3 It was at Rutgers that Dr. Cross began to teach a human sexuality course as part of the curriculum, training himself by attending seminars and encounter groups. He became chairman of the community medicine program and his course gained in popularity and respect by the medical students (Fig. 3). He was founding Director of the Human Sexuality Program of the Robert Wood Johnson Medical School at Rutgers. Richard Cross retired from his academic career in Fig. 3 1985, but his “Sex Week” had become nationally known and the Richard J. Cross Award for Distinguished Contributions to Sexuality was established in 1987. He continued to be active in the sex education field until his death in 2003 at age 87. Cornelius Van Schaak Roosevelt (Fig. 4) was born October 23,1915 in New York City to Theodore Roosevelt Jr. (1887-1944) and Eleanor Butler (1889-1960). He was the grandson of President Theodore Roosevelt (1858-1919) and Edith Kermnit Carow (1861-1948) and was named after his great-great grandfather. Cornelius’ father was born at Sagamore Hill on Long Island and during his early years attended school wherever the family was living: Oyster Bay, Albany and Washington. He served as Governor General of the Philippines, Governor of Puerto Rico, and Assistant Secretary of the Navy. He is best known in his position of Brigadier General during World War II where he took part in the D-Day invasion of France at Utah Beach and was given command of the 90th Division. Sadly he died of a heart attack in July of 1944 before he could assume this role. 2 Cornelius Roosevelt was raised in Oyster Bay, Long Island, near his grandfather’s estate at Sagamore Hill. Like his father, Cornelius attended the Groton School (where he met Richard Cross). In 1933 he and his brother Quentin traveled to Germany where they took a two month course in gliding [planes] at the famous Segelflugschule in Grünau and earned licenses in gliding and soaring (Roosevelt Jr. 1959:308) In the Fall of 1933 he entered Harvard College where he stayed for one year before transferring to MIT. There he studied mining engineering and graduated with honors in 1938.3 From 1938 to 1941, Mr. Roosevelt was a mining engineer for American Fig. 4 Smelting and Mining Co. in Mexico, where he stayed for four years. During World War II and afterwards he served as a technical assistant in the navy.4 Between 1946 and 1949 he worked for the William Hunt & Co. as manager and then president, living in Hong Kong by 1950. In 1952 he joined the CIA and served in the 4 technical services division and then as chairman of the technical surveillance countermeasures committee. He retired from the CIA in 1973 but continued to serve as a defense consultant. He died on August 2, 1991 after suffering a heart attack at his home in Washington, D.C. He never married. Mr. Roosevelt’s hobbies included woodworking, which he pursued in a spare bedroom in his Washington Condominium (Koncius 1982). From childhood he had always been handy at fixing and building things. His niece, Anna, remembers him making games for her, and later inventing a pinhole detector for sheet metal leakage (Anna Roosevelt, personal communication, Jan. 20, 2005). He was an accomplished scuba diver who swam in such places as the Red Sea and Haiti. A patron of the arts, he was a leading expert on the graphic work of the late Dutch artist M.C. Escher and donated several of his works to the National Gallery. He also had a personal collection of Japanese netsuke. Cornelius’ niece, Anna Roosevelt, herself an accomplished archaeologist specializing in South America, felt that her uncle lost interest in archaeology following his trip to Peru in 1934 (Anna Roosevelt, personal communication, Jan. 20, 2005), but his obituary in the Washington Post states that “Mr. Roosevelt was also an amateur archaeologist, and that he had helped in the removal of Egyptian antiquities from areas to be flooded for the construction of the Aswan Dam during the 1950’s.” (Barnes 1991). Perhaps his experience in Peru had a more lasting effect than one realized. It is not known whether Roosevelt kept in contact with Richard Cross after taking divergent paths in their respective colleges. Roosevelt and Cross’ Trip to Peru in 1934 It was Cornelius Roosevelt who developed the plan to travel to Peru to undertake archaeological work. His desire to return to Germany to continue flying instruction was thwarted by the increasing militancy of the Nazi Party and that country’s edict to not allow foreigners to undertake this form of training in Germany (Roosevelt Jr. 1959:366). Dr. Isaiah Bowman, head of the American Geographical Society, a friend of the Roosevelt family, suggested that Roosevelt explore an ancient wall in Peru running inland from the coast (Roosevelt Jr. 1959:384). Cornelius had also read an article in the Geographical Review by Robert Shippee on the “Great Wall of Peru.” He convinced his friend from Groton, Richard Cross, to accompany him on this venture. After returning, Roosevelt published his account of the trip, providing a very detailed account of the venture, especially the archaeological investigations (Roosevelt 1935). Richard Cross’ account of his experience, while similar to that of Roosevelt, has never been published. It contains a fresh perspective and additional details of the experiences of the two young men, and I will attempt to give a day-to-day account, based on his diary and letters as well as supplementary data derived from Roosevelt’s diary. But first, I will provide a bit of background on the primary object of their archaeological investigations, the “Great Wall of Peru.” 5 The Great Wall of Peru From 1928 to 1930, Lieutenant George R. Johnson, a Fellow of the American Geographical Society and chief photographer of the Peruvian Naval Air Service as well as instructor in Aerial photography at the Naval Air Base at Ancon, Peru took hundreds of aerial photographs of coastal and highland Peru.5 One hundred and fifty of these were published in 1930 in a special publication of the American Geographical Society entitled Peru from the Air (see bibliography). Interest in the book and its revealing photographs led to the formation of the Shippee-Johnson Peruvian Expedition of 1931, one of whose goals was to record the most ancient archaeological sites by oblique and vertical photographs and mosaic maps (Shippee 1932:1). While returning to their base camp at Trujillo, where they were photographing the Chimú site of Chan Chan from the air, they took a circular route over the mountains and then back up the coast. It was at this time that Johnson noticed what appeared to be a wall running parallel to the north side of the Santa Valley (Figs. 5 and 6). They were so intrigued by the wall that they established a temporary camp at Chimbote in order to be able to examine it in more detail. They followed the wall in their plane from its terminus about 5 miles from the ocean up the valley as far as Corongo, about 90 miles inland. They located 14 stone fortresses located on hills overlooking the wall (Shippee 1932). The team then decided to undertake an overland trip to investigate the wall. They found that it seemed to originate in the ruins of an ancient village constructed of adobe, but they were unable to determine whether the wall extended all the way down Fig. 5 to the ocean. The first section of the structure was composed of two parallel walls that converged some distance up the valley. Using an old Ford, they attempted to drive along the wall as far as possible, 6 but the rough terrain allowed them to go only a few miles. They discovered that the wall was constructed of broken rocks set in a mud morter. I n some places the wall rose to a height of 20 to 30 feet, but the average elevation was about 7 feet. They argued that the function of the wall was mainly defensive, built by the Chimú to prevent the Incas from invading their territory (Shippee 1932:10). David Wilson, now at Southern Methodist University, made further studies of the “Great Wall” and its associated fortifications. In the years 1979 to 1980, Wilson undertook a systematic survey of the lower Santa Valley, mapping the sites and their architecture, and establishing a chronological sequence for the valley. He discovdered that the Fig. 6 wall is not a single continuous entity, but is made of five separate sections with gaps between some of the segments. It dates to the Middle Horizon (600-1000 A.D.) and thus was not built by the Chimú (1000-1460 A.D.) (Wilson 1988: 251-255). The wall is too low to be defensive in nature, and the gaps along its path would have allowed invaders to easily breach it. Furthermore, the “forts” or citadels, as Wilson calls them, are even earlier, dating to the Early Horizon (900-400 B.C.) and the Early Intermediate Period (100 B.C. to 600 A.D.) (Wilson 1988:104). Wilson also published drawings depicting the different types of construction used in building the wall (Wilson 1988: 253). Cross and Roosevelt’s Account of their 1934 Trip to Peru The following is a day-by-day account of Richard Cross’ archaeological trip to Peru as reconstructed from his personal diary and from letters he wrote home to his mother and father. As editor, I have added clarifying remarks either within brackets or as endnotes. Although the most important sections deal with Cross’ interaction with Cornelius Roosevelt and Julio C. Tello, notes on the entire trip are presented so that the 7 reader can get a flavor of the passage to and from Peru and some of the individuals who helped them in their quest to inspect the Great Wall of Peru. I have also included excerpts from Cornelius Roosevelt’s diary dealing with the archaeological portion of the trip (July 24 to August 12). I obtained a transcript of that portion of Roosevelt’s diary made by Steven Wegner while he was at Dumbarton Oaks [where the diary now resides]. I also made comparisons between the diaries and the published account of Roosevelt in 1935, referring the reader to some of the illustrations in that article. Friday, June 22, 1934 [New Haven to New York] Cross, a freshman at Yale, spent the morning attending the crew races at Gales Ferry. He saw President Franklin Roosevelt aboard the Sequoia and then took a special train from New Haven to New York City with his sisters Nora and Emma, staying overnight at his parent’s home at 12 East 80th St. Saturday, June 23, 1934 [New York to Wilmington, DE] Cross spent the morning making final arrangements and packing. At 11:00 he went down to the docks and finally found the right boat and put his belongings on board. Richard met up with Cornelius [Corny] and his sister along with his own sisters Nora and Emma. The sailing was postponed until 4:00 P.M. so they went uptown for lunch. The boys sailed from New York at 4:15 P.M. on the MS Ward, of the Roosevelt Steamship Co. whose captain was E.J. Evans. Sunday, June 24, 1934 [Wilmington, DE] The ship, the MS Ward, anchored at Wilmington, Delaware to pick up freight. The young men convinced the captain to be allowed to go ashore, which they did in a small boat. They hoped to attend a movie or to call family friends, a Mrs. Crowningshield or the DuPonts. In Wilmingbton they found all the stores closed. They had a large lobster lunch and tried to call Mrs. Crowingshield, but she was away. Then they called P.L. DuPont who invited them to tea, however they were unable to get transportation to the DuPont home. Monday, June 25, 1934 [Wilmington, DE] The ship docked at Deepwater Point at 11:00 A.M. The two young men went to Wilmington with the captain in a DuPont car. Cornelius called Mrs. DuPont who sent a car for them. P.L. was away, but Mr. And Mrs. DuPont received them kindly, and the young men had a swim and then tea. At 5:30 they caught a ferry and airflow taxi to the Dupont factory and visited briefly. They arrived back at the ship for dinner, and the Ward sailed off at 7:00 P.M. Richard wrote a letter to his mother providing the above details and asked her to forward his mail c/o American Express, Lima. Tuesday, June 26, 1934 [en route to Panama] On route to Panama, Cross watched porpoises under the shop’s bow. At first he was not very impressed with his fellow passengers, but later wrote that “they turned out better than they looked at first glance.” One of the ship’s cylinder linings cracked, and the 8 ship had to keep moving lest the cylinder freeze up. He had tea with Captain E.J. Evans, “a pleasant, agreeable fellow” and some of the other passengers. He also played deck golf with the captain and ladies and practiced his Spanish. Wednesday, June 27, 1934 [en route to Panama] Richard spent the morning watching flying fish and measuring how high they could jump. The ship left the gulf stream off Savannah. He and Cornelius had baths in the afternoon. After dinner Corny slept while Cross talked to some of the other passengers, played deck golf, and worked on a puzzle. Thursday June 28, 1934 [en route to Panama] Cross spent the day reading, doing puzzles, and trying to “shoot” the north star with crude instruments. Friday, June 29, 1934 [en route to Panama] Richard beat the captain at deck golf, sunbathed and read a book. He toured the operating system of the ship and continued to work on his Spanish skills. Very hot temperatures. Saturday, June 30, 1934 [en route to Panama] Another uneventful day. Cross read the “Forsythe Saga” and “Ariel” Sunday, July 1, 1934 [arrival at Colon, Panama] Richard took pictures of the boat, did some packing for the upcoming change of ships. The ship arrived at Colon, Panama at 11:30 P.M. but the boys did not disembark. The weather was cloudy with showers. Monday, July 2, 1934 [Cristóbal, Panama] Richard and Cornelius were awakened at 6:00 A.M. by a loud salute from the British ship H.M.S. Norfolk. They went ashore with Captain Evans and second officer Michael and were met by Commander Symington, the port captain of Cristóbal. Dick tried to buy a second-hand sextant but had no luck. [It appears that Cross was quite interested in Astronomy and was impressed with the clarity of the sky and the ability to see the Southern Cross, Vega, the North Star, and various planets.] The ship was delayed all day at Cristóbal while the cylinder for the engine was being repaired. They had drinks in a bar and then went back to the ship for lunch. They slept in afternoon and returned to the city to see its night life after supper. Visited Kelly’s bar and various unsavory parts of the city. Back on ship at 3:00 A.M. In Cristobal, a reporter encountered them and persuaded Roosevelt to be filmed for the news reels shown in theaters at that time. In a letter to his mother from Colon, he asked her to have his father arrange for their return passages from Colon to New York on the MS Potter. Roosevelt was also looking into this as well. Tuesday, July 3, 1934 [Canal Zone—Cristóbal to Balboa] Cross awoke at 6:00 A.M. as the ship weighed anchor, beginning its passage through the Panama Canal, reaching the Gatlin Locks at 7:00 A.M. Passed Pedro Miguel 9 at noon and arrived at Balboa at 2:00 P.M. Richard took photographs of the passage through the locks. They were met by Mr. Robinson, a Panama Agencies Agent. They were passed through customs by an official who had been with Corny’s grandfather [Theodore Roosevelt] at San Juan. After attempting to find a room at the Army & Navy YMCA, they decided it was too tacky. They then moved to the Hotel Trivoli in Ancon, C.Z. Paid $4.50 for a nice room with bath and balcony. Roosevelt got in touch with a Mr. Clayton, a lock engineer who knew they were looking for a second hand sextant, who took them to the Pedro Miguel locks and explained the workings. Richard practiced using Mr. Clayton’s sextant but did not buy it because the owner wanted too much for it. They spent the day with the Clayton family, with whom Richard was quite impressed with his varied interests. Wednesday, July 4, 1934 [Balboa Canal Zone] Fourth of July holiday, everything closed down. Mr. Robinson drove them around. The ship they were to take to Peru, the Santa Cecelia, had a broken propeller blade and had to be put in dry dock to have it repaired., so their departure was delayed indefinitely. In a letter to his mother Cross complained that they would be several days late getting into Lima. The young men were invited by Ted Scott, an Associated Press correspondent in Colon, to fly to Cristóbal to see the boxing fights at the army base there. They decided to go. In the evening were the traditional fireworks, after which they went to the movies. Thursday, July 5, 1934 [Balboa, Canal Zone] Still waiting in Panama for the boat to be repaired, the young men did some shopping (camera cases for Corny’s equipment). They visited Governor Schlap and Cross got his third Typhoid shot. Friday, July 6, 1934 [Canal Zone] On this day the young men visited the Gorgas Memorial Institute (of tropical medicine) and were shown around by Dr. Herbert Clark who had a collection of tropical creatures: vampire bats, ticks, monkeys snakes, etc. Had lunch with him at the Century Club. Spent the afternoon back at the institute. In the evening they went to a movie and to Kelley’s bar. Saturday, July 7, 1934 [Canal Zone] Richard slept all morning and went shopping in afternoon. After dinner the boys went to “Fashions of 1934.” Sunday, July 8, 1934 [Balboa to Cristobal] The young men spent the morning packing and checking out of the Trivoli Hotel in anticipation of transferring to the boat. They flew to the army base at Cristóbal to see the boxing fights. It was Richard’s first flight in an airplane, and he was quite impressed. He wrote his mother that he was unable to take pictures from the air because “photographs were forbidden flying over government fortifications.” Cross remarked that he could see both oceans during the flight. They moved from the Trivoli Hotel to the 10

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Peru Roosevelt and Cross contacted the eminent Peruvian archaeologist Julio C. Tello, .. Cross spent the day reading, doing puzzles, and trying to “shoot” the north star 80 soles, less than the Panagra flight and with a better schedule.
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Most books are stored in the elastic cloud where traffic is expensive. For this reason, we have a limit on daily download.